Lincoln Park

After more than two years of relentless Not In My Back Yard pushback to the Dickens Greenway proposal, Alderman Michele Smith has finally signed off on the project.

On Tuesday night Alderman Michele Smith of the 43rd ward convened a public meeting over Zoom about the two-years-old proposal to convert part of Dickens Avenue in Lincoln Park into a "Neighborhood Greenway." Chicago Department of Transportation bicycle and pedestrian program manager David Smith presented plans for the greenway and answered questions from the audience. It was a well-attended meeting with 166 people in attendance when the Q & A period began around 90 minutes into the meeting. At the beginning of the meeting it was clear that many people had already formed their opinions about the greenway.

When the Chicago Department of Transportation redesigns a street, but fails to put in the necessary signs to tell drivers where and where not to park, the result can be dangerous chaos.

There are plenty of ways Chicago can help restaurants and bars survive this extremely challenging period -- if city officials are willing to be flexible, generous, and proactive to help them out.

The Montrose Blue and Diversey Brown stations just got colorful, thought-provoking new public art that will make the commute more interesting.

Just a few days after Alderman Smith announced the end of the pilot, the traffic calming treatment, which enabled safe, socially-distanced walking and biking in the roadway, has already been taken down.

Taking away space from cars and making it available to people is providing a shot in the arm to the struggling hospitality industry, while allowing pandemic-weary residents to enjoy some nightlife.

Doing a Slow Street on Dickens is a great way to test out the neighborhood greenway concept without making permanent infrastructure changes.

Despite comments from some naysayers who are against bringing more outsiders to Dickens Avenue and Oz Park, the majority of attendees at the hearing seemed to be in favor of the project.